Endometrial tissue in the abdomen of women is typically difficult to identify and remove. This difficulty can pose a significant problem, with eighteen percent of all women affected by endometriosis. In general, there is a greater potential for pain reduction and improved fertility with an increase in the removal of diseased tissue. Multiple surgeries are typically needed due to incomplete identification, and implants on important structures, e.g. ovaries, are not removed. Diagnosis of endometriosis typically requires histologic confirmation of the markers stroma, hemosiderin, and glands, and samples for the confirmation of endometriosis can be obtained through laparoscopic surgery and biopsy.
Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound typically cannot identify lesions. Instead, the lesions are confirmed with surgical biopsies, and of the removed tissue, only eighty percent is typically diseased. The existing endometriosis identification techniques therefore include many shortcomings, and improved apparatus and methods are desired.
Accordingly, improved imaging apparatus and methods would aid in the detection of endometrial tissue.